American singer-songwriter R. Kelly has been accused by a Minnesota prosecutor against prostitution and solicitation charges for a 2001 allegation that he invited a 17-year-old girl to his hotel and paid her $200 to dance naked with him.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the girl was trying to get an autograph from Kelly, and that the performer gave her his signature and a phone number. When the girl called on the given number, she was invited to his hotel.
There she was offered $200 to take off her clothes and dance, Freeman said. He said Kelly took his clothes off and they danced together.
A criminal complaint said that Kelly lay on his bed and the girl climbed on top of him.
"According to the victim, the defendant was rubbing her body" and fondling himself, according to the complaint. "Victim stated that the defendant touched all over her body."
The complaint also said that the girl attended Kelly's concert "as a guest who did not have to pay," and told her brother what had happened in the hotel room.
Freeman said that the victim was under 18 but at least 16 years old at the time of the incident. He added that there was no sexual intercourse between Kelly and the victim.
The charges are felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison. Freeman said his office investigated after getting a tip from a Chicago tip line.
Gloria Allred, the attorney for several of Kelly's accusers, said that she is also handling the newest woman. She commended the woman "for the courage she displayed in speaking to law enforcement.
"As this new case demonstrates, it is not too late for there to be justice for even more victims of R. Kelly," Allred said in a statement.
The charges come after the 52-year-old singer, who remains behind the bars in New York after pleading not guilty last week in federal court to charges that he sexually abused women and girls who attended his concerts there. He is also accused of using his showbiz to recruit young women and girls into illegal sexual activity.
Apart from this case, the star is also charged in Chicago with engaging in child pornography.
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